CRAWFORD HIRE LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC226990 · ltd · incorporated 2002-01-15
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£2
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 49320
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£2
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£1£1£2£2Jan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£2£2
Net assets£2£2

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-11-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2018-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-10-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-10-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-01-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-01-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2013-11-13
    ➖
    LEADBETTER, Mark resigned
    director
  17. 2007-03-13
    ➖
    CRAWFORD, Janet Anderson resigned
    director
  18. 2007-03-13
    ➕
    LEADBETTER, Mark appointed
    director
  19. 2002-01-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CRAWFORD HIRE LTD.
  20. 2002-01-15
    ➕
    CRAWFORD, Janet Anderson appointed
    secretary
  21. 2002-01-15
    ➕
    CRAWFORD, Derek appointed
    director
  22. 2002-01-15
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2002-01-15
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2002-01-15
    ➕
    CRAWFORD, Janet Anderson appointed
    director
  25. 2002-01-15
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2002-01-15
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2002-01-15
    ➕
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2002-01-15
    ➖
    PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CRAWFORD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Derek Crawford
Individual · British · DOB 05/1963 · age 63
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting13/01/2017
Mr Paul Anderson Crawford
Individual · British · DOB 07/1989 · age 37
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting13/01/2017

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Similar companies

Active · Transport & logistics · EH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
CASTILUM LTD→
SC850555 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
CEC 2013 LIMITED→
SC219797 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
CENTRAL ELECTRIC CARS 5 LIMITED→
SC561961 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE HIRE LTD→
SC857851 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
CITY EXECUTIVE TRAVEL LTD→
SC588086 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————8y——
CNC TRANSPORT LTD→
SC830385 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
COSTLESS TRAVEL LIMITED→
SC753637 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
COVENESS LIMITED→
SC251153 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
CRAIGBRIDGE LIMITED→
SC203027 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
————26y——
CRAIGPORT LIMITED→
SC222003 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
CRAWFORD TAXIS LTD.→
SC239898 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
————23y——
CREATIVE TRAVEL CONNECTIONS LTD→
SC701723 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
🔒Advanced scoring suite

Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-01-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC49320 — SIC 49320

Registered office

1 Inverleith Gardens
Edinburgh
EH3 5PU
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-27
Last: 2026-01-13

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

CRAWFORD, Janet Anderson→
secretary · appointed 2002-01-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CRAWFORD, Derek→
director · ~63y · appointed 2002-01-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-01-15 · resigned 2002-01-15
Resigned
CRAWFORD, Janet Anderson→
director · ~65y · appointed 2002-01-15 · resigned 2007-03-13
Resigned
LEADBETTER, Mark→
director · ~58y · appointed 2007-03-13 · resigned 2013-11-13
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-01-15 · resigned 2002-01-15
Resigned
PETER TRAINER COMPANY SERVICES LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-01-15 · resigned 2002-01-15
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (61 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-11-29